Running back Kylin Hill leads Mississippi State to 31-10 victory over Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kansas – On an overcast, misty morning on the Great Plains, Mississippi State needed a spark. The Bulldogs thought they had one when junior linebacker Leo Lewis blindsided Kansas State’s quarterback and forced a fumble deep in MSU territory.

Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill (8) is hoisted in the air by teammates after scoring a 16-yard run during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Kansas State Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The play was reviewed and reversed, and the Wildcats knotted the score at three apiece late in the first quarter.

Instead, the spark head coach Joe Moorhead’s team needed came on the ensuing offensive possession, and it came from a likely player.

Kylin Hill caught a 16-yard touchdown pass, and the sophomore running back’s day was just getting started. He led the way in Mississippi State’s rather convincing 31-10 victory in unfriendly confines.

Running with determination

Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill (8) breaks free for a long gain in the first half. Mississippi State and Kansas State played in a college football game on Saturday, September 8, 2018, in Manhattan, Kansas. Photo by Keith Warren/Madatory Photo Credit

“Certainly Kylin runs with a tremendous physicality and runs behind his pads, and also has that second gear to take it the distance,” Moorhead said.

Hill finished with 211 yards rushing on 17 carries. He added two more scores on the ground. Senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald made his return as MSU’s starter and had a productive day running the ball as well with 159 yards on 19 attempts.

On MSU’s first two drives, Fitzgerald racked up five carries before Hill ever touched the ball. When he got it for the first time, Hill displayed the second gear Moorhead referred to with a 47-yard scamper down the left sideline.

Hill ran with determination all day. He established himself as the Bulldogs’ featured back in doing so. Even with some work to be done for Hill as a pass-blocker, he remained on the field in obvious passing situations. Senior Aeris Williams, who ran for over 1,000 yards last year, never touched the field Saturday.

“As a player, it’s a dream come true,” Hill said on his performance. “Especially getting playing time like that. I didn’t even know how many yards I had. My team just told me, ‘Keep running, keep running.’”

That, he did – and quite well. Kansas State had 213 total yards on 56 plays. Hill had 227 total yards on 18 touches. Fitzgerald said he didn’t think Hill would ever get tackled behind the line of scrimmage. That didn’t happen until Hill’s last carry of the game.

“He works his butt off every day. He’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve seen,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s strong, he’s quick, he’s fast, he’s agile. He can make people miss. He can run through tackles. You knew he was going to go off like this eventually.”

Fitzgerald returns rusty

Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald (7) throws a pass in the red zone in the first quarter. Mississippi State and Kansas State played in a college football game on Saturday, September 8, 2018, in Manhattan, Kansas. Photo by Keith Warren/Madatory Photo Credit

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, showed signs of rust throughout the game. He barely completed 40 percent of his passes, wildly overthrowing open receivers multiple times. He said chemistry with his wide outs should come as the season goes on, but it wasn't there on Saturday.

Fitzgerald threw an interception that led to Kansas State’s only touchdown. He forced a screen pass to a receiver clouded in purple jerseys, and the Wildcats came away with it. Fitzgerald called it a “dumb mistake,” especially since K-State clawed to within 24-10 late in the third quarter on the first play after the pick.

Defense dominates again

Mississippi State’s defense played too well to let mishaps like that affect the outcome. The Bulldogs generated eight more tackles for loss to bring their season total to 25, and they matched their Week 1 total in sacks with four.

Sophomore linebacker Erroll Thompson had one of those sacks and came away with an out-stretched interception. Thompson looked like a wide receiver on the play – not a 6-foot-1, 250-pound linebacker. He said it was probably the best catch he’s ever made.

Kansas State running back Alex Barnes (34) is tackled by Mississippi State linebacker Erroll Thompson (40) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop dialed up a bunch of blitzes for Thompson and the linebackers. MSU came out in a variety of different defensive formations. Most of them worked as the Wildcats failed to average four yards per play.

“I feel like anything coach Shoop asks us to do, we’re going to be confident in it,” Thompson said.

The MSU defense looked dominant for the second consecutive week, and Hill and the offense did enough for a three-score victory on the road. The Bulldogs are ringing in the Moorhead era just how they wanted to.